conic Nokia 3310 coming to India, all rebooted World’s most widely used phone for five years from 2000, it sold 12.6 crore units

The iconic Nokia 3310 is set to make a comeback in a new trendier avatar, with HMD Global bringing the handset to India in the next quarter for about Rs 3,500. HMD Global, which has struck a 10-year brand licensing agreement with Nokia for mobile phones and tablets, will also bring in Android-powered Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 to India in the second quarter of this year. “All the products that we have announced will be available in the second quarter of this year. The average global selling price for Nokia 3310 is 49 euros,” HMD Global Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rantala said. The revamped 3310 model features a bigger screen. Its 22 hours of talk time and up to one month of standby time are expected to position the handset as a back-up for smartphone users. Nokia 3310, known for its robustness, was the most widely used feature phone globally in the 2000-05 period. It is estimated to have sold 12.6 crore units globally when there were only a few countries with mobile networks. The model was discontinued in 2005 globally. It was when India had a very small mobile subscriber base of less than 8.5 crore compared to over 1 billion at present. Once the world’s biggest handset company, Nokia in 2014 sold its ailing handset operations to Microsoft for $7 billion to focus on its network equipment business. Last year, the brand got a new lease of life with HMD Global, a company led by ex-Nokia executives, getting the licence. “Now, we are celebrating the new era of Nokia brand. We would not license the Nokia brand to just anybody.” Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said. In India, the target group will see Nokia 3310 as their first or primary phone, he added. HMD Global has also unveiled Nokia 5 and 3 smartphones for 189 and 139 euros, respectively. — PTI